Liberty Energy Inc. Announces First Quarter 2023 Financial and Operational Results
Summary Results and Highlights
-
Revenue of
$1.3 billion , a 59% increase over the prior year, and net income1 of$163 million , or$0.90 fully diluted earnings per share -
Adjusted EBITDA2 of
$330 million -
Delivered strong first quarter free cash flow and returned
$83 million to shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and a quarterly cash dividend - Repurchased 2.9% of shares outstanding in the quarter, and 7.1% cumulatively of shares outstanding since reinstatement of the repurchase program in July 2022
- Achieved a milestone of 1,291 minutes of plug and perf pumping time in a single day with our first commercially deployed digiFleet℠
- Launched Liberty Power Innovations (“LPI”), an integrated alternative fuel and power solutions provider for remote applications and acquired Siren Energy to accelerate LPI’s expansion in the Permian
“Liberty delivered an outstanding first quarter, with Adjusted EBITDA of
“Liberty has an 11-year track record of delivering significantly higher average returns than our industry and the S&P 5004. Our competitive advantage has never been larger, and our industry is now investing with discipline. Supplying the world with oil and gas is mission critical and spare production capacity today is quite modest implying a positive outlook in the coming years for our industry and company. Since July 2022, we have now returned
“Three years from the onset of the global pandemic and severe crash in energy markets, discipline is now widespread in the energy sector. North American frac activity predominantly supports the maintenance of today’s oil and gas production levels. The days of breakneck oil and gas production growth are over, but simply supporting today’s record high oil and gas production levels in the
Outlook
Tight frac markets persist in
The fundamental outlook for North American hydrocarbons is strong, as constrained global oil supply is confronted by rising demand in emerging markets and a gradual recovery in
In early spring, financial sector stresses and the heightened perceived recessionary risk on global oil demand resulted in an abrupt fall in oil prices. Concerns have since eased as markets digested the news and economic data showed resiliency. A surprise collective and proactive output cut from OPEC+ members coupled with falling Russian supply drove oil prices back to pre-bank stress levels.
“As we look ahead, early year strength continues into the second quarter, where we are seeing stable pricing and normal seasonality,” commented Mr. Wright. “Frac markets remain at high utilization levels, and robust demand in larger, oilier basins likely offsets softer conditions isolated to gas basins.”
“Liberty’s success is based on innovation, and today we are at the forefront of a generational shift in frac technology. During the first quarter, we deployed our first digiFleetSM comprising digiFracSM electric pumps with no disruption to completions operations. The crew quickly reached a milestone achievement of 1,291 minutes of pumping time in a day, or 90% of total available minutes,” continued Mr. Wright. “With our revolutionary pump technology, built for purpose mobile power generation, and fuel supply, we are now seeing the early benefits of five years of innovation and integration coming to fruition.”
“Liberty Power Innovations expands our vertical integration strategy alongside our sand, logistics, manufacturing and design capabilities. We launched LPI with the initial focus on compressed natural gas (CNG) and field gas processing services that support the secular demand shift towards natural gas as the primary fuel of choice. Dependable access to fuel is critical to maintaining highly efficient frac operations that drive Liberty’s industry-leading performance and returns,” continued Mr. Wright. “We are confident in our ability to generate strong returns, while balancing investment in the future and a strong capital return program.”
Share Repurchase Program
During the quarter ended March 31, 2023, Liberty repurchased and retired 5,166,730 shares of Class A common stock at
The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions, through block trades, in privately negotiated transactions, through derivative transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. The timing, as well as the number and value of shares repurchased under the program, will be determined by the Company at its discretion and will depend on a variety of factors, including management’s assessment of the intrinsic value of the Company’s common stock, the market price of the Company’s common stock, general market and economic conditions, available liquidity, compliance with the Company’s debt and other agreements, applicable legal requirements, and other considerations. The exact number of shares to be repurchased by the Company is not guaranteed, and the program may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice. The Company expects to fund the repurchases by using cash on hand, borrowings under its revolving credit facility and expected free cash flow to be generated through the authorization period.
Quarterly Cash Dividend
During the quarter ended March 31, 2023, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend of
On April 18, 2023, the Board declared a cash dividend of
Future declarations of quarterly cash dividends are subject to approval by the Board of Directors and to the Board’s continuing determination that the declarations of dividends are in the best interests of Liberty and its stockholders. Future dividends may be adjusted at the Board’s discretion based on market conditions and capital availability.
First Quarter Results
For the first quarter of 2023, revenue grew to
Net income1 (after taxes) totaled
Adjusted EBITDA2 of
Fully diluted earnings per share of
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of March 31, 2023, Liberty had cash on hand of
In January 2023, Liberty amended its ABL Facility to provide for a
Conference Call
Liberty will host a conference call to discuss the results at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Time) on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Presenting Liberty’s results will be Chris Wright, Chief Executive Officer, Ron Gusek, President, and Michael Stock, Chief Financial Officer.
Individuals wishing to participate in the conference call should dial (833) 255-2827, or for international callers, (412) 902-6704. Participants should ask to join the Liberty Energy call. A live webcast will be available at http://investors.libertyfrac.com. The webcast can be accessed for 90 days following the call. A telephone replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing (877) 344-7529, or for international callers (412) 317-0088. The passcode for the replay is 1944606. The replay will be available until April 27, 2023.
About Liberty
Liberty is a leading North American energy services firm that offers one of the most innovative suites of completion services and technologies to onshore oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Liberty was founded in 2011 with a relentless focus on developing and delivering next generation technology for the sustainable development of unconventional energy resources in partnership with our customers. Liberty is headquartered in
1 | Net income attributable to controlling and non-controlling interests. | |
2 |
“Adjusted EBITDA” is not presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in | |
3 |
Adjusted Pre-Tax Return on Capital Employed (“ROCE”) is a non- | |
4 | S&P 500 excludes Financials and Real Estate constituents. |
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This earnings release includes unaudited non-GAAP financial and operational measures, including EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and ROCE. We believe that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial and operational measures provides useful information about our financial performance and results of operations. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted to eliminate the effects of items such as non-cash stock-based compensation, new fleet or new basin start-up costs, fleet lay-down costs, costs of asset acquisitions, gain or loss on the disposal of assets, bad debt reserves, transaction, severance, and other costs, the loss or gain on remeasurement of liability under our tax receivable agreements, the gain on investments, and other non-recurring expenses that management does not consider in assessing ongoing performance.
Our board of directors, management, investors, and lenders use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to assess our financial performance because it allows them to compare our operating performance on a consistent basis across periods by removing the effects of our capital structure (such as varying levels of interest expense), asset base (such as depreciation, depletion, and amortization) and other items that impact the comparability of financial results from period to period. We present EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA because we believe they provide useful information regarding the factors and trends affecting our business in addition to measures calculated under GAAP.
We define Adjusted Pre-Tax Return on Capital Employed (“ROCE”) as the ratio of pre-tax net income (adding back income tax and tax receivable agreement impacts) for the three months ended March 31, 2023 to Average Capital Employed. Average Capital Employed is the simple average of total capital employed (both debt and equity) as of March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022. ROCE is presented based on our management’s belief that these non-GAAP measures are useful information to investors when evaluating our profitability and the efficiency with which management has employed capital over time. Our management uses ROCE for that purpose. ROCE is not a measure of financial performance under
Non-GAAP financial and operational measures do not have any standardized meaning and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. The presentation of non-GAAP financial and operational measures is not intended to be a substitute for, and should not be considered in isolation from, the financial measures reported in accordance with
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
The information above includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein concerning, among other things, statements about our expected growth from recent acquisitions, expected performance, future operating results, oil and natural gas demand and prices and the outlook for the oil and gas industry, future global economic conditions, improvements in operating procedures and technology, our business strategy and the business strategies of our customers, the deployment of fleets in the future, planned capital expenditures, future cash flows and borrowings, pursuit of potential acquisition opportunities, our financial position, return of capital to stockholders, business strategy and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “may,” “expect,” “estimate,” “outlook,” “project,” “plan,” “position,” “believe,” “intend,” “achievable,” “anticipate,” “will,” “continue,” “potential,” “likely,” “should,” “could,” and similar terms and phrases. However, the absence of these words does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties. The outlook presented herein is subject to change by Liberty without notice and Liberty has no obligation to affirm or update such information, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events, and it is possible that the results described in this earnings release will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions identified above or as disclosed from time to time in Liberty's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of these factors, actual results may differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the SEC on February 10, 2023 and in our other public filings with the SEC. These and other factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
Liberty Energy Inc. Selected Financial Data (unaudited) | |||||||||||
|
| Three Months Ended | |||||||||
|
| March 31, |
| December 31, |
| March 31, | |||||
|
|
| 2023 |
|
| 2022 |
|
|
| 2022 |
|
Statement of Operations Data: |
| (amounts in thousands, except for per share data) | |||||||||
Revenue |
| $ | 1,262,077 |
| $ | 1,225,592 |
|
| $ | 792,770 |
|
Costs of services, excluding depreciation, depletion, and amortization shown separately |
|
| 888,416 |
|
| 890,846 |
|
|
| 670,019 |
|
General and administrative |
|
| 53,036 |
|
| 49,087 |
|
|
| 38,318 |
|
Transaction, severance, and other costs |
|
| 617 |
|
| 544 |
|
|
| 1,334 |
|
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization |
|
| 94,401 |
|
| 88,213 |
|
|
| 74,588 |
|
Loss (gain) on disposal of assets |
|
| 487 |
|
| (1,562 | ) |
|
| 4,672 |
|
Total operating expenses |
|
| 1,036,957 |
|
| 1,027,128 |
|
|
| 788,931 |
|
Operating income |
|
| 225,120 |
|
| 198,464 |
|
|
| 3,839 |
|
Loss on remeasurement of liability under tax receivable agreements (1) |
|
| — |
|
| 42,958 |
|
|
| 4,165 |
|
Interest expense, net |
|
| 7,891 |
|
| 6,756 |
|
|
| 4,324 |
|
Net income (loss) before taxes |
|
| 217,229 |
|
| 148,750 |
|
|
| (4,650 | ) |
Income tax expense (benefit) (1) |
|
| 54,483 |
|
| (4,430 | ) |
|
| 830 |
|
Net income (loss) |
|
| 162,746 |
|
| 153,180 |
|
|
| (5,480 | ) |
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests |
|
| 91 |
|
| 311 |
|
|
| (104 | ) |
Net income (loss) attributable to Liberty Energy Inc. stockholders |
| $ | 162,655 |
| $ | 152,869 |
|
| $ | (5,376 | ) |
Net income (loss) attributable to Liberty Energy Inc. stockholders per common share: |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Basic |
| $ | 0.92 |
| $ | 0.84 |
|
| $ | (0.03 | ) |
Diluted |
| $ | 0.90 |
| $ | 0.82 |
|
| $ | (0.03 | ) |
Weighted average common shares outstanding: |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Basic |
|
| 176,569 |
|
| 181,128 |
|
|
| 183,999 |
|
Diluted (2) |
|
| 181,088 |
|
| 185,904 |
|
|
| 183,999 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Other Financial and Operational Data |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Capital expenditures (3) |
| $ | 129,654 |
| $ | 116,087 |
|
| $ | 90,062 |
|
Adjusted EBITDA (4) |
| $ | 329,885 |
| $ | 295,474 |
|
| $ | 91,831 |
|
(1) |
During the second quarter of 2021, the Company entered into a three-year cumulative pre-tax book loss driven primarily by Covid-19 which, applying the interpretive guidance to Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740 - Income Taxes, required the Company to recognize a valuation allowance against certain of the Company’s deferred tax assets. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company achieved three years of cumulative pre-tax income in the | |
(2) |
In accordance with | |
(3) | Net capital expenditures presented above include investing cash flows from purchase of property and equipment, excluding acquisitions, net of proceeds from the sales of assets. | |
(4) | Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. See the tables entitled “Reconciliation and Calculation of Non-GAAP Financial and Operational Measures” below. |
Liberty Energy Inc. | |||||||
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | |||||||
(unaudited, amounts in thousands) | |||||||
| March 31, |
| December 31, | ||||
|
| 2023 |
|
|
| 2022 |
|
Assets |
| ||||||
Current assets: |
|
|
| ||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 20,876 |
|
| $ | 43,676 |
|
Accounts receivable and unbilled revenue |
| 732,671 |
|
|
| 586,012 |
|
Inventories |
| 196,675 |
|
|
| 214,454 |
|
Prepaids and other current assets |
| 119,970 |
|
|
| 112,531 |
|
Total current assets |
| 1,070,192 |
|
|
| 956,673 |
|
Property and equipment, net |
| 1,430,979 |
|
|
| 1,362,364 |
|
Operating and finance lease right-of-use assets |
| 134,305 |
|
|
| 139,003 |
|
Other assets |
| 103,906 |
|
|
| 105,300 |
|
Deferred tax asset |
| 21,240 |
|
|
| 12,592 |
|
Total assets | $ | 2,760,622 |
|
| $ | 2,575,932 |
|
Liabilities and Equity |
|
|
| ||||
Current liabilities: |
|
|
| ||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | $ | 717,611 |
|
| $ | 609,790 |
|
Current portion of operating and finance lease liabilities |
| 37,166 |
|
|
| 38,687 |
|
Current portion of long-term debt, net of discount |
| — |
|
|
| 1,020 |
|
Total current liabilities |
| 754,777 |
|
|
| 649,497 |
|
Long-term debt, net of discount |
| 210,000 |
|
|
| 217,426 |
|
Long-term operating and finance lease liabilities |
| 89,840 |
|
|
| 91,785 |
|
Deferred tax liability |
| 1,044 |
|
|
| 1,044 |
|
Payable pursuant to tax receivable agreements |
| 114,842 |
|
|
| 118,874 |
|
Total liabilities |
| 1,170,503 |
|
|
| 1,078,626 |
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Stockholders’ equity: |
|
|
| ||||
Common Stock |
| 1,739 |
|
|
| 1,791 |
|
Additional paid in capital |
| 1,208,183 |
|
|
| 1,266,097 |
|
Retained earnings |
| 388,064 |
|
|
| 234,525 |
|
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) |
| (7,867 | ) |
|
| (7,396 | ) |
Total stockholders’ equity |
| 1,590,119 |
|
|
| 1,495,017 |
|
Non-controlling interest |
| — |
|
|
| 2,289 |
|
Total equity |
| 1,590,119 |
|
|
| 1,497,306 |
|
Total liabilities and equity | $ | 2,760,622 |
|
| $ | 2,575,932 |
|
Liberty Energy Inc. | ||||||||||
Reconciliation and Calculation of Non-GAAP Financial and Operational Measures | ||||||||||
(unaudited, amounts in thousands) | ||||||||||
Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA | ||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | |||||||||
| March 31, |
| December 31, |
| March 31, | |||||
|
| 2023 |
|
| 2022 |
|
|
| 2022 |
|
Net income (loss) | $ | 162,746 |
| $ | 153,180 |
|
| $ | (5,480 | ) |
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization |
| 94,401 |
|
| 88,213 |
|
|
| 74,588 |
|
Interest expense, net |
| 7,891 |
|
| 6,756 |
|
|
| 4,324 |
|
Income tax expense (benefit) |
| 54,483 |
|
| (4,430 | ) |
|
| 830 |
|
EBITDA | $ | 319,521 |
| $ | 243,719 |
|
| $ | 74,262 |
|
Stock based compensation expense |
| 7,178 |
|
| 5,982 |
|
|
| 6,813 |
|
Fleet start-up costs |
| 2,082 |
|
| 3,833 |
|
|
| 585 |
|
Transaction, severance, and other costs |
| 617 |
|
| 544 |
|
|
| 1,334 |
|
Loss (gain) on disposal of assets |
| 487 |
|
| (1,562 | ) |
|
| 4,672 |
|
Loss on remeasurement of liability under tax receivable agreements |
| — |
|
| 42,958 |
|
|
| 4,165 |
|
Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 329,885 |
| $ | 295,474 |
|
| $ | 91,831 |
|
Calculation of Pre-Tax Return on Capital Employed | ||||||
| Twelve Months Ended | |||||
| March 31, | |||||
|
| 2023 |
|
|
| 2022 |
Net income | $ | 568,528 |
|
|
| |
Add back: Income tax benefit |
| 52,860 |
|
|
| |
Add back: Loss on remeasurement of liability under tax receivable agreements (1) |
| 72,026 |
|
|
| |
Adjusted Pre-tax net income | $ | 693,414 |
|
|
| |
Capital Employed |
|
|
| |||
Total debt, net of discount | $ | 210,000 |
|
| $ | 212,202 |
Total equity |
| 1,590,119 |
|
|
| 1,233,666 |
Total Capital Employed | $ | 1,800,119 |
|
| $ | 1,445,868 |
|
|
|
| |||
Average Capital Employed (2) | $ | 1,622,994 |
|
|
| |
Adjusted Pre-Tax Return on Capital Employed (3) |
| 43 | % |
|
|
(1) | Loss on remeasurement of the liability under tax receivable agreements is a result of the release of the valuation allowance on the Company’s deferred tax assets and should be excluded in the determination of pre-tax return on capital employed. | |
(2) | Average Capital Employed is the simple average of Total Capital Employed as of March 31, 2023 and 2022. | |
(3) | Adjusted Pre-tax Return on Capital Employed is the ratio of pre-tax net income for the twelve months ended March 31, 2023 to Average Capital Employed. |
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005911/en/
Michael Stock
Chief Financial Officer
Anjali Voria, CFA
Strategic Finance & Investor Relations Lead
303-515-2851
[email protected]
Source: Liberty Energy Inc.